TED: John Hunter creates a World Peace game for 4th grade students

Hunter has been teaching this 4th grade class for 20 years. Students each represent a nation and play a game much like UN Monopoly, and they have to resolve issues like war, water purification, global-warming, etc… And they do this on their own, without being told how to negotiate… Hunter is always amazed by the results – what they teach themselves about world peace – and avoiding war…

Teacher and musician John Hunter is the inventor of the World Peace Game (and the star of the new doc “World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements”).

Why you should listen to him:

Musician, teacher, filmmaker and game designer, John Hunter has dedicated his life to helping children realize their full potential. His own life story is one of a never-ending quest for harmony. As a student, he studied comparative religions and philosophy while traveling through Japan, China and India. In India, inspired by Ghandi’s philosophy, he began to think about the role of the schoolteacher in creating a more peaceful world.

As his online biography says: “Accepting the reality of violence, he would seek to incorporate ways to explore harmony in various situations. This exploration would take form in the framework of a game – something that students would enjoy. Within the game data space, they would be challenged, while enhancing collaborative and communication skills.”